The Defense Department's chief information officer is making an all-hands call for nominations for the annual DOD CIO awards program, now in its 25th year.

The program recognizes the top individual and team talent within the department's information technology community including communications, information technology and cybersecurity, spectrum management, position, navigation, timing and more. 

Sam Kassem, DOD CIO awards program manager, said they would like to have as many nominees as possible to consider for awards this year. 

"We are expanding the awards to our strategic and federal partners, and we strongly encourage them to apply," he said. "These key teammates can apply because of the critical role they play in strengthening, protecting and advancing the DOD IT enterprise." 

Katie Arrington, who is performing the duties of the DOD CIO, highlighted the vital role IT professionals play in defending the nation during a recent podcast with the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. 

"The cyber warriors are the ones when the adversary wants to come in, they're not going to launch a missile first," she said. "When Russia was going to invade Ukraine, they turned off the power first. So, the cyber warrior is the first line of defense we have in a non-kinetic war." 

All across the department, Kassem said, IT teams and individuals are doing work to protect the nation, which merits recognition. 

"Within the DOD and the federal workforce, IT teams are doing fantastic work, but they are also exceptionally busy," he said. "The department can't recognize the best performers unless they are nominated by their leadership. We ask for nominations to allow plenty of time for leaders to build award packages to get their top talent the recognition they have worked hard all year to earn." 

The annual awards program recognizes the exceptional achievements of individuals or teams  in delivering capabilities and management practices that advance warfighter lethality, readiness and network efficiency. The major functional area categories covered by the awards program are updated to reflect four technical priority areas: 

• Cybersecurity: Includes cryptographic modernization, zero trust, cybersecurity of the defense industrial base, cyber hygiene, cross-domain solutions, capability maturity model, and cyber innovations. 
• The information enterprise: Includes cloud innovation, network transport and optimization, software modernization/development security operations, coalition information sharing, defense business systems improvement and modernization, data center optimization and application rationalization, identity, credentialing and access management, and the special access programs IT ecosystem. 
• Command, control and communications: Includes C3; telecommunications; position, navigation and timing; 5G/6G/XG mobile networks; national leadership command capability; satellite communications/tactical data links/radio systems; public safety communications; and the electromagnetic spectrum. 
• Other IT areas: Includes financial and management audits that encompass cost savings and avoidance; IT and cyber budget; IT and communication accessibility; IT and the cyber workforce; industry and international engagements; time division multiplexing elimination; technical debt; and electronic records management. 

DOD CIO expects to release the 2025 award program guidance and instructions in late May to give ample time for the department, as well as federal and strategic partners, to participate. 

Those eligible for the awards program include individuals or teams supporting the Defense Department mission — including military departments and services, combatant commands and the joint staff, principal staff assistants, defense agencies and field activities, and the department's partners in the intelligence community as well as members of federal civilian agencies. 

The performance period for nominations is June 2024 - July 2025, and must be unclassified. 

Awards packets must be submitted by early August 2025, and winners will be announced in November. The awards ceremony is scheduled for December at the Pentagon. 

To submit a nomination, visit the DOD CIO awards program SharePoint site. Questions should be addressed to the CIO awards program office at osd.mc-alex.dod-cio.mbx.dod-cio-awards@mail.mil.